Diary: January 2005

Oscar nominations

Oscar nominations have arrived, earlier than ever. The Aviator (2004) has been given the most nominations, with 11 nods, so that'd probably be my pick to win the big ones, even though I have not yet seen it.

I haven't seen any of the other picture nominees either since they aren't being released here in Australia for another million years, except for Sideways (2004), which shall remain my favourite for now. How Paul Giamatti didn't get a nomination is totally beyond me.

On Awards Season

For once, I would like to be able to watch the Golden Globe Awards (or, for that matter, the Academy Awards, which are usually nearly as bad), and say to myself upon the announcement of the winners:

"I'm glad [movie or television program X] won - it was really deserving"

rather than:

"Yes, [movie or television program X] does look like it might be worthy of an award, but I'll find out for sure when it's finally available to be viewed in this Godforsaken country!"

Of the films nominated in the two "big" film categories, Picture - Drama, and Picture - Musical Or Comedy, only five of the 11 nominees have been released in Australia as yet, and all but one have been out less than a month.

There's nothing like rubbing salt in the wound, and that's just what Channel Ten did, by showing advertisements for the nominated films throughout the telecast, almost all of them with an "opens in a coupla weeks" tagline at the end. Grr.